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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴠᴀ sᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇs
ᴊɪᴍɪɴ's ɴᴀᴍᴇ ᴏɴ ʙɪᴏɢʀᴀᴘʜʏ.ᴄᴏᴍ ꒱


❝ YOUR HESITATION WILL
COST LIVES ❞

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It was ingrained in Jimin's personality to be unflappably calm even in the most dire of situations. Mission gone wrong? No problem, she could handle it. A S.H.I.E.L.D. team needed extraction? She was the one for the job. Aliens invading New York? A little unusual, but there were already strange things happening in the world so not entirely odd. An organization obsessed with keeping the time-space continuum in check? Sure, why not? She liked order as much as the next person (as long as they weren't Loki.)

That same organization knowing every aspect of her life even before she lived it? Now that was something to be suspicious of.

Jimin was not an open person by nature and kept most of her own details to herself. The only person outside of her small family she'd ever shared anything with was long dead and she hadn't been that close to anyone since. Now, though, as a tiled screen formed right before her eyes with a crystal-clear image of a younger version of herself, she tensed, remembering the same day with as exact detail as it was being shown.

✧ ✧ ✧ 

1985

At five years old, Jimin's intellect had already surpassed most of her age group. She hadn't been born a genius— though she was more observant than the average child— but her father had prided discipline above all else and structured her days around physical and mental improvement.

Militaristic in teaching style, Hui Jaein gave both areas equal attention with obstacle courses and training regimens in the morning and intellectual tests in the afternoon. He had, of course, wanted a son, but made do with what he'd been given, instructing his daughter as if she'd been born male. Jimin's mother, Hui Seul-Gi, was a distant, foggy figure that was a fragment of memory more than a real person.

On this particular day, Jimin and her father were sitting across from each other, a Janggi board between them. The girl's feet dangled above the floor, the chair too tall for her currently short stature and she resisted the urge to swing them, knowing her father would turn the unnecessary movement into a lecture. Instead, she focused on the game, watching the man's stern features study the board.

Several of her pieces had already been captured and sat to his left while she had far fewer on her same side. Finally, after what seemed to be an indeterminable amount of time— at least to her— the man moved his arm, his fingers closing around his beyong (soldier) and placed it three spaces away from her sang (elephant), successfully completing a barricade. Jimin resisted the urge to sigh, knowing that the move she'd been planning on making (involving her sang) was now thwarted. She'd have to spend extra time trying to figure out what to do next.

Noticing the faint slump of her shoulders, Jaein pressed his lips into a thin line, immediately understanding her strategy— or lack thereof. "Do not wear your emotions so openly, 딸. 항상 상대방보다 10보 앞서 있어야 합니다. 다시."

(ddal. hangsang sangdaebangboda 10bo apseo iss-eoya habnida. Dasi.)

[Daughter. You must be ten steps ahead of your opponent at all times. Again.]

The board was reset.

✧ ✧ ✧ 

1990

Now eleven years old, Jimin had become stronger and faster, years of steady training paying off in sturdy limbs and nearly limitless patience. If Jaein had asked it of her, she could sit cross-legged for hours without moving a muscle, falling into the meditative state he'd had her practice over and over again to increase stamina and mindfulness.

They faced each other yet again, this time with nothing between them as they sat on the floor, watching each other's expression carefully. Jaein was in the middle of telling a story from his Korean War days, though it wasn't a traditional war tale that a veteran might tell— this one was riddled with purposefully placed lies that Jimin was supposed to pick out while her father's face remained expressionless, forcing her to study him for the smallest of tells.

There were three confirmed fabrications and— possibly— countless other ones (it was quite conceivable that this particular story was entirely made up), though Jimin so far had four. He had started the story the same way several months ago, so she was almost certain that at least some of it was true— she just had to make sure to catch everything.

Jaein finished the story and grew quiet, waiting for her to answer with her findings. Jimin hesitated for a moment and then began, listing the date he'd been sent out (he had said 30 June 1951 but she remembered— thanks to the unit picture above his desk— that it had actually been 25 June 1950.) She then added the incorrect number of members in his unit and the initial duties he'd been given.

While his features gave nothing away as she continued to list the false facts, she knew from his silence that she hadn't gotten them wrong. Jimin ended with: "and you became a daeryeong (colonel), not a jungnyeong."

Although the man's expression didn't change, he gave a short, curt nod indicating she'd caught each of his non-truths.

✧ ✧ ✧ 

PRESENT DAY

Mobius reached over and pressed a button on the projector, pausing the video on the image of her father's serious face. Jimin forced herself to tear her gaze away from the man, fighting the urge to shrink under his unforgiving gaze. She had no fond memories of him; she didn't even think he'd ever smiled once in the time she'd known him.

The gray-haired man met her gaze with a tilt of his head. "You seem to have a knack for seeing through illusions and lies, Jimin. That's why you were put in charge of him, yes?"

Before the Agent could answer, Loki puffed up indignantly. "She's not in charge of me! I am a god—"

"And I'm an atheist," Jimin interrupted him flatly. "Not everyone gets what they want, cow—"

"Cow? If you're going to try and insult me, at least have it make sense," the god retorted.

"Cow," she repeated, bringing her hands up to her head, drawing two shapes in the air. "You know, the horns. Very cow-like."

The Asgardian glowered at her. "They do not resemble a cow. They are a symbol of my power and mastery of magic—"

"—which is point-less here—"

"And not to be taken lightly," he finished, ignoring her interruption. "In battle—"

"O-kay," Mobius announced loudly, clapping his hands together. "Let's bring this back to the original topic, shall we? The point is that Jimin here is your perfect counterpart—"

"Hardly," Loki scoffed.

"—and has used this skill to her benefit, making her a respected agent. It appears that you do have one weakness, though," the man finished as if the god hadn't spoken.

✧ ✧ ✧ 

1995

Jimin stood in front of a shooting range, a headset clamped tightly over her ears as she held a heavy, black gun in her hands. Her father stood behind her, the same disapproving expression that he always wore on his face as he watched how she set up the weapon for target practice. It was Jaein's goal to have her enlist in the Korean military though— unknown to him— she was making a plan to apply to the S.H.I.E.L.D. Operations Academy.

Catching her father's eye, he gave a short nod of approval, allowing her to raise the gun in the proper position. Jimin trained her eyes on the target and undid the safety latch on the firearm and took a deep breath, steadying her thoughts as she focused on her mark.

Nearly a minute passed and yet she hadn't moved, her hesitation and doubt causing her to delay. Frustrated, she set the weapon down and moved the headset to circle her neck as she turned to face the older man. "I don't think I can do it, 아버님."

(abeonim)

[Father.]

"당신의 망설임은 생명을 앗아갈 것입니다."

(dangsin-ui mangseol-im-eun saengmyeong-eul as-agal geos-ibnida.)

[Your hesitation will cost lives.]

✧ ✧ ✧ 

1999

The gym at the Academy of Operations was never empty, though there were times when it was less full as it was right now. Most of the recruits that were able to adapt to the strict regimen— which was only steps above what Jimin had grown up with— were early risers. She'd learned to use the equipment later at night when everyone else was working on other areas, allowing her nearly free reign of the space. She spent most of her time with the punching bags, preferring to work her emotions out on the inflated bag than talking about them.

Her father had not been pleased when she'd announced her plan— which she'd done only after her application was accepted, her plane flight booked and her ride nearly at the door— and while he hadn't yelled at her (he never raised his voice), his silence had been equally deafening and she'd made a fast escape, allowing him time to cool off. Jimin wasn't so sure that was going to happen, though, since she hadn't heard from him in the three years she'd been at the Academy and she'd been. . . cautious of returning to Korea in case he decided to send her off to the military.

She often thought about her contentious relationship with the man during her workouts and they fueled her energy better than any good night's rest as she attacked the equipment with vigor. With her earbuds in as she listened to her Walkman, Jimin didn't hear a second person enter the gym.

With a name inspired by a future hurricane, Katrina Thibodeaux was not one to be ignored. Wherever she went, a whirlwind followed and everyone knew that she'd been there. She was the type of person who went after what they wanted and— perhaps most importantly— never hesitated.

Her gaze landed on the dark-haired woman who was energetically beating up a punching bag in the back of the gym. The redhead made a beeline for her, not bothering to be careful as she got close enough to tap the other woman on the shoulder. Jimin whirled around, her fists raising in a defensive position as her mindset was still on her exercise. She relaxed at the sight of her new companion, though she gave the woman a harsh glare as she paused her music and removed her earbuds. "I could've hit you!"

"But you didn't," Katrina responded easily. "I wanted to know what that punching bag ever did to you."

The Asian woman was slightly surprised by the redhead's light French accent, though she didn't let the emotion show on her face."None of your business," she replied— albeit childishly— and made to turn around. "Now, if you don't mind—"

"Do you want a sparring partner? I might give you more of a challenge than an inanimate object."

Jimin gave her and once-over, pressing her lips together as she considered the offer. "Very well, but I won't apologize if I hurt you."

"I'd like to see you try," the redhead shot back, wearing an obviously smug expression.

✧ ✧ ✧ 

2000

Katrina's rather arrogant self-confidence had been commonplace after that and she continued to dog Jimin's footsteps, popping up "unexpectedly" wherever the Asian woman happened to be. While it could have been seen as annoying— Jimin often complained about it, after all— she didn't really mind the other woman's presence. They had even become regular sparring partners after their initial meeting with an equal amount of wins and losses from both sides (Jimin's from her hesitation and Katrina's from her becoming easily distracted.)

The Asian woman was lying with her back flat on the mat again, looking up at the redhead crossly. "You cheated!"

"I did not," Katrina told her haughtily from her position on top of the brunette. "You doubted yourself, Jimmy."

Jimin resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the dumb nickname and instead gave her a faint smirk. "But what if I'm ten steps ahead of you and I meant for this to happen?"

"What?"

The brunette used her secret weapon, pulling out her rarely-used smile to send it in the redhead's direction and causing the other woman's hold on her to loosen. Jimin used their change of leverage to quickly flip their positions around and Katrina groaned, "no fair!"

"All's fair in love and war," the Asian woman replied smoothly, her eyes lifting to flick around the empty gym—

✧ ✧ ✧ 

PRESENT DAY

Jimin stood abruptly, still reeling from the shock at seeing the redhead— She shook her head and glared at Mobius. "That's private! How do you have that footage? Those are my memories," she snapped. "Stay out of my head!"

"The T.V.A. has access to the entire course of your life," the man explained. "We aren't in your head," he paused and gave her a considering look. "You are a suspicious person by nature, aren't you? That's put you in a rather unpopular position at work but has given you insight to things other people miss."

"Like what?" she asked warily.

"You know what I'm talking about," Mobius told her indulgently. "Your Hydra theory."

"Oh, that one," Jimin acknowledged, calming slightly as she retook her seat. "I'm not sure how no one's figured it out yet but clearly not everyone's loyalties lie with the greater good. Everyone thinks Captain America caused the beginning of the end of Hydra but I think they've only gone underground. No one can cause that kind of organization to disappear within a few decades. There will always be people who choose to believe in evil."

"And how would you feel if I told you that you're right?"

The Asian woman shrugged. "Unsurprised."

✧ ✧ ✧ 

2009

It had been an unauthorized mission but one Jimin had deemed necessary— a decision she'd later learn to regret. With her high clearance, she was able to have access to most secure files and had taken it upon herself to do some undercover work regarding her theory that Hydra had hidden themselves within S.H.I.E.L.D. (She'd only needed to meet Alexander Pierce once to become suspicious of him) and had discovered an unidentified base in one of the files that wasn't part of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s strong holds.

Her team— a group of five that she trusted more than anyone else she worked with (but still not as much as she did Katrina)— agreed to help her infiltrate the base to get proof (though she'd told them a different reason in case they were compromised.) They knew full well that there was no extraction point and anything could go wrong in a second, but after completing dozens of missions together, they had built a strong bond of confidence with each other.

They'd broken in under the cover of night and had been surprised by the lack of outer security— though that only made them more wary. They'd sent in Agent Smith, who was their designated hacker to take down security footage. After his all-clear, the rest of the group stealthily moved in, spreading out to cover enough ground while keeping close for communication. It was Katrina that found their computer room and with the help of Agent Smith had been able to break into the files to download them on the flash drive they'd brought. That was where their mistake was.

The computers must have been triggered with an alarm that alerted the guards on the base because soon there were shouts as they drew nearer, causing the group to tense.

"Everyone, head for the exit, now!" Jimin ordered, unwilling to risk their safety more than she had to in the face of a personal mission.

"What about the files?" Katrina asked from the control room, still waiting for them to finish downloading.

"Forget about them! What we have is better than nothing."

But, like the force of a hurricane, Katrina was relentless and stubborn. She refused to leave the job unfinished and tapped her fingers impatiently on the desk while the loading bar read ninety percent.

As three out of five members met up at the exit, Jimin's expression hardened and she turned on Agent O'Callaghan. "Where is she?"

Rather meekly, the red-haired man raised his hand and pointed back the way they came, causing the Asian woman to curse. "You're in charge, O'Callaghan. Get everyone out and have the jet ready when we come back."

The agent nodded and she took off, weaving through the maze of halls to the main room. She stayed on guard in case the soldiers had caught up with them. She rounded the entrance to see the redhead still at the desk, the dark head of Agent Smith bobbing above her as they both stared at the screen. Jimin marched over and yanked out the flash drive, prompting protests from the pair. "I said retreat."

"Well, actually you said exit now," Katrina said snarkily as Jimin pulled her out of the chair.

"I'm your leader," the woman snapped. "You do as I say on missions."

As she marched the pair out of the room, her girlfriend smirked. "I'm glad you specified since, you know—"

Agent Smith cleared his throat uncomfortably and the brunette glared at her. "Leave your personal life at home on missions. Don't you listen to anything—"

She was cut off by the shouts of soldiers and she gave Katrina a harsh shove. "Run!"

The trio picked up their pace as armored men appeared behind them and they sprinted towards the exit as gunshots sounded behind them. Jimin didn't even notice the sudden lack of bullets until Agent Smith happened to look up and let out a surprisingly high-pitched yelp. "The ceiling!"

The two women followed his gaze to see that the soldiers had targeted the plaster above them, which had cracked dangerously due to the onslaught of the attack. The Asian woman's eyes widened and she froze under the unstable ceiling as Katrina and Agent Smith ran forward, her sudden hesitation halting her in place.

There was a loud splintering sound as the material's integrity failed that caused the pair to turn back. The redhead copied her girlfriend's earlier actions by letting out a string of curses— though this time in French, not Korean— before launching herself forward. She ignored the soldiers preparing to fire again in case their plan didn't work. Her Focus was on pushing the Asian woman to safety, and she shoved her forward with enough force to stumble into action as Jimin scrambled out of range. 

Jimin spun back around and extended her arm, offering her hand to pull the other woman out of harm's way, but— her eyes widened as the ceiling had finally had enough. It came crashing down in chunks of heavy plaster, right on top of— "NO!"

Agent Smith reacted quickly, securing his hands around Jimin's arms, holding her back from darting forward. His own eyes were equally wide, staring in shock at the space where their teammate had been. At the sound of guns reloading, he forced his thoughts to clear with a shake of his head, has grip tightening on the Asian woman. "We have to go!"

"No— no, we can't— we can't leave! We can't—"

Dutifully ignoring her protests, the dark-haired agent all but ran his leader towards the exit as the soldiers raced behind them, uncaring of their fallen member. O'Callaghan had obeyed his orders and had the jet ready, allowing the two agents to board and took off immediately after. Lopez and Hayes watched them with confusion, the Mexican woman asking, "where's—?"

Agent Smith gave her a grim look in response, their leader's usually distraught state making sense as Lopez raised a hand to her mouth in shock and Hayes lowered his head, taking off his hat as a sign of respect.

"We-we have to go back," Jimin insisted, still unable to comprehend the events that just happened even though they were all her eyes continued to see. "She-she could've— she could've made—"

Your hesitation will cost lives.

Agent Smith turned to face the Asian woman and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders as he met her eyes. "We can't," he told her firmly. "You saw how that ceiling fell on her— no one could survive that weight. She would want us to escape, Agent Hui. We completed the mission." 

He handed her the flash drive. Jimin stared at him for a moment before her face turned into an expressionless mask as she took it from him. "The price was too high."

✧ ✧ ✧ 

2014

The day S.H.I.E.L.D. fell was one of chaos and disorder— exactly the scenario Jimin dreaded. While she couldn't say she'd been surprised, Hydra agents had appeared from what seemed like every angle, people she'd thought she could (at the very least) respect turned out to be working for the opposite side. Even within her own unit one of their members— Smith, she should've seen it coming— had turned on them and managed to injure Hayes.

They'd barely managed to get away and had met up with some of the remaining true-to-S.H.I.E.L.D. teams which consisted of far less people than Jimin would've liked. The rest of their base had been overrun by the undercover agents in a power grab and they had to figure out how to escape.

It had been the base leader's idea to leave through the vents, which had been all well and good until the system ended in a hallway several turns from the exit. The team dropped down into the empty space, immediately on their guard. Jimin tried not to pay too much attention to the fallen bodies of people who hadn't made it out, instead choosing to concentrate on helping the survivors to safety, ushering them towards the back entrance. As the leader used his authorization to open the doors, they could hear the approach of armed men close by.

The Asian woman glanced over her shoulder to where the Quinjet stood waiting, and then to their bedraggled and injured team. A decision formed in her mind and she held out her hand. "Give me your gun."

The base leader gave her an incredulous look. "What are you going to do?"

She looked back to the entrance with a steely expression. "Hold them off so you can escape."

"Hold them off with what?" he demanded as the group began to separate, some of the members making a beeline for the getaway vehicle.

"Me."

As much as he didn't want to lose anyone else today, he was used to making difficult calls. Hui Jimin's S.H.I.E.L.D. history commanded respect and he knew he could trust her, so the man nodded and handed his weapon over before he turned to help the other unit members. Jimin faced forward, the gun loaded and ready in her hands as she stood strong against the opening of the landing pad, refusing to let anyone past.

When the soldiers rounded the corner and raised their guns, she didn't hesitate. 

Note: unlike Disney/Disney+, I'm not afraid to do more than just list 'genderfluid' in a credits sequence and do nothing about it. In an effort to be more diverse, I'm planning on writing more LGBTQ+ OCs. As you might have guessed from the lack of space in 'girlfriend,' Jimin is bi (Katrina is a major part of her character development.) If this is something that will be problem, then this book— and account— isn't for you. I'm pretty easygoing about a lot of things but slander and ostracizing because of a closed mind isn't something I'm accepting of. 

I wish I didn't have to, but I feel like I should put that disclaimer since, apparently, not everyone is living in the twenty-first century.